Craft a bulletproof marketing strategy with a SWOT analysis
- Alberto Carniel
- Nov 14, 2019
- 7 min read
Updated: Dec 29, 2025
Is SWOT analysis still useful nowadays?
Wait… what does it really mean?
And how do you actually do a SWOT analysis without turning it into a vague “feelings” exercise?
In this article, I cover all of that (and more).
Understanding the meaning of SWOT analysis—and implementing it correctly—is fundamental for every marketer. Consider this another evergreen block of the #MarketingPlan.
Keep reading.
Table of contents
WHAT SWOT ANALYSIS MEANS
SWOT analysis is an acronym that represents a powerful assessment tool for projects and business strategies.
SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
Kotler and Keller, in Marketing Management, say:
“The overall evaluation of a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats is called SWOT analysis. It’s a way of monitoring the external and internal marketing environment.”
This evaluation is the step before goal-setting and consists of:
an internal analysis (Strengths and Weaknesses), and
an external analysis (Opportunities and Threats).
Strengths
Internal factors that represent a competitive advantage:
Does the business have any successful process?
What’s the business value proposition?
What assets does the team have that make the business unique (knowledge, education, network, skills, reputation…)?
Does the business have any physical assets like customers, equipment, technology, cash, patents…?
Weaknesses
Internal factors that must be developed to unleash a business’s full potential:
What are the flaws in the business’s processes?
Does the business lack tangible assets like money or equipment?
Does the team have gaps? Can team management be improved?
Is the business located in the best area to succeed?
Opportunities
External factors that can positively contribute to growth:
Is the target market expanding? Will people be encouraged to buy more of the product/service offered?
What upcoming events can the company exploit to grow?
What about laws and regulations—are changes expected that could positively impact the organization?
Threats
External factors that can block growth:
Are potential competitors expected to enter the company’s target market?
Will the business be able to buy raw material at a convenient price? How much power do suppliers have?
Can future technology improvements negatively affect the business?
If consumer behavior shifts, could it adversely influence sales?
Is the target market stable, or could its trends become a threat?
Internal environment analysis
Organizations are not perfect—and trying to turn all weaknesses into strengths is madness.
The real question is this:
Should the business seize opportunities it can win with today’s strengths, or pursue opportunities that require building new strengths first?
Marketers, ball’s in your court.
Yes, the one that saves you from “we’re strong because we care.”
Here’s a list of the main factors to consider while doing a business micro-environment audit:
Mission, objectives, marketing strategy…
Product quality: product lines, product differentiation, market share, price policy, distribution channels, communication, customer service, market research, sales force, budget…
Research and development (R&D): product design, innovation level, processes...
And here are the critical areas to study during an internal environment analysis (Strengths/Weaknesses):
Team management: skills, values, bond, expertise, coordination…
Financial perspective: profitability analysis, cost analysis, ROI…
Operations: raw material control, productive capacity, cost structure, equipment and material, stock check, quality check…
Human resources: skills, turnover, training, spirits...
External environment analysis
Every marketer should monitor macro-environment forces and relevant micro-environment factors that affect the capacity of earning profits.
Finding attractive opportunities is one thing. Taking advantage of them is another.
Good marketing is the art of finding, developing and profiting from opportunities.
If we set aside politics and other environmental factors and focus on buyer behavior, a marketing opportunity can mainly emerge from three sources.
According to Kotler and Keller, a company can offer:
Something that is in short supply;
An existing product or service in a different or superior way;
Something new.
Companies can introduce hybrid products/services by matching trends from different industries.
For example, mobile phones are now capable of taking digital pictures and videos, or connecting through GPS (Global Positioning Systems).
Businesses can make the buying process more efficient and convenient.
Digitalization allowed people to easily find products online and benchmark prices in a few clicks.
Companies can also provide a service that matches consumers’ needs for information and advice.
For example, AnswerThePublic suggests keywords and ideas to content creators based on common search engine queries.
Marketers can let customers customize products/services (e.g. Timberland allows users to tailor colors for different sections of their boots, add initials and numbers, and choose different stitching or embroidery) or introduce a new capability (e.g. in 1999, Apple released iMovie to enable Mac owners to create and edit digital videos, and upload them online).
Other strategies to envision new opportunities include:
speeding up delivery, or
offering products/services at a lower price (e.g. pharmaceutical firms creating generic versions of brand-name drugs).
Similarly, you can use the same prompts to steer clear of threats.
External threats are challenges caused by unfavorable trends or developments that, without defensive marketing action, lead to lower sales or profit.
Most typical macro-environment forces
Here’s a memo-style list of key factors to consider during an external business audit:
Demographic forces;
Economical changes in outcomes, prices…;
Changes in costs or availability of natural/energy resources;
Technological shifts;
Political/legislative changes;
Cultural, behavioral or lifestyle changes;
Market changes: size, growth, profitability…;
Main competitors: strategies, market share, customer value, strengths and weaknesses…;
Distribution channel: alternative distribution channels, provider/retailer chain...;
Third party institutions: media, government, citizens, communities, labor unions…
How PEST analysis can help marketers to audit a business’s external environment
Organizations deal with opportunities and threats across different time frames: short, middle, and long term.
While SWOT analysis usually points out short- and mid-term external factors, PEST analysis covers the long-term ones.
In strategic management, PEST analysis evaluates Political, Economic, Social, and Technological factors.
These elements are often relevant to SWOT too—and should be included when appropriate. It helps marketers broaden the lookout.
Example of SWOT analysis
I prepared a McDonald’s SWOT analysis example by retrieving data from:
A 2019 McDonald’s revenue study by Macrotrends;
McDonald’s: 60 years, billions served — Chicago Tribune, 04/15/2015;
McDonald’s Newsroom.
HOW SWOT ANALYSIS CAN BENEFIT A COMPANY
During my career as a digital marketer, I’ve seen many entrepreneurs jump headfirst into projects without a clear understanding of their surroundings.
The result?
A waste of money and time.And since time is money, that’s basically double money.
Entrepreneurial instinct is great.But risks should always be minimized.
How small businesses can take advantage of SWOT analysis
The benefits of SWOT analysis for large corporations are crystal clear—especially when they operate internationally.
They can’t afford to be blind to what’s happening inside and outside the organization.
Small businesses, on the other hand, often underestimate it. According to Small Business Trends: 2019 by Guidant Financial and LendingClub, only 29% of small business owners have a bachelor’s degree. That often means fewer formal management tools in the toolbox.
So yes—some business owners might not immediately see the importance of SWOT analysis.
Good governance is what brings small businesses to the next level, and it can be attained by hiring professional consultants or temporary managers.
SWOT analysis is one of those governance building blocks: it forces clarity.
It’s also a chance to get unique insight into how a business operates.
Many entrepreneurs are generalists who jump breathlessly from one activity to another.
A SWOT analysis helps them get a bird’s eye view of what’s going on, take off the blinders, catch a breath, and direct energy toward what really matters.
You don’t want to end up broke like Blockbuster, right?
Blockbuster’s leadership underestimated the shift toward streaming content consumption, lost touch with its surroundings, and the company collapsed under the pressure of new media players like Netflix.
Also, SWOT is not only useful to evaluate an entire business—it's great for projects too:
advertising campaigns,
content strategy/editorial plans,
trade shows,
events, and more.
Conducting a SWOT analysis provides small businesses with intel to build tangible countermeasures for weaknesses and upcoming threats—and clear roadmaps for strengths and opportunities.
In other words, it supports:
budgetary plans,
hiring needs,
mid- to long-term strategic planning.
I also support business owners in strategic management: book a talk with me and get your digital marketing covered.
HOW TO DO A SWOT ANALYSIS
There are no secrets or magic tricks here. Even if you’re allergic to “old school” methods, brainstorming is still the best way to start.
Disclaimer: I’m explaining a general process that works across sectors, industries, and projects. To do a meaningful SWOT, you need data—and the tools to get that data depend on what you’re analyzing.
That’s why no “one process fits all” can be perfect.
Draw a cross
Exactly: draw a cross on paper (or on a screen if you’re working remotely).
SWOT is more effective when performed by a team, not by a single person guessing in isolation.
The two top quadrants represent internal factors: Strengths and Weaknesses.
The two bottom quadrants represent external factors: Opportunities and Threats.
Brainstorming
Set a timer.
Start brainstorming ideas for each area.
Do it individually first—without influencing each other.
Group ideas
Time’s up.
Put everyone’s input on the cross.
Then:
group similar ideas,
eliminate duplicates,
clean up wording so concepts are consistent.
Rate ideas
Rate ideas based on impact on the organization/project.
Set a timer again.
Discuss each idea separately.
Once everyone is aligned, you’ll see the real challenges—and the real leverage points.
Share results
Time’s up. Last step.
Your cross is complete.
Grab the insights and share them with the relevant stakeholders.
The next step in your marketing strategy is goal-setting.
Use the SWOT report to:
monitor strategy progress, and
feed future reviews.
And yes: you should perform a SWOT analysis at regular intervals to keep strategies and plans up to date.
CONCLUSIONS
As technology evolves, the ways we collect data for SWOT evolve too.
But the core logic doesn’t change: a solid strategy starts with a clear understanding of reality—internal and external.
Did this article change your opinion about SWOT analysis?Does your organization perform it regularly?
REFERENCES
Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane Keller — Marketing Management
Guidant Financial, LendingClub — Small Business Trends: 2019
SCORE — The Family Business: successes and obstacles (2018 survey)
Macrotrends — McDonald’s revenue study (2019)
Chicago Tribune — McDonald’s: 60 years, billions served (04/15/2015)
McDonald’s Newsroom
AnswerThePublic